Dust mop cleaner



Oct'. 1,2, 1943. c. R. cuR-rls DUST MOP CLEANER Filed oct'. 2o, 1941Patented Oct. 12, 1943 UNITED STATES VPATENT OFFICE l 2,331,457 t 'A 1nusr Mor CLEANER cwunourzis,m.in'les;ca1if. y Application october zo,1941, swarm. 415,699'v (cnrs- 12V A9. Claims.

This invention relates to a dust mop cleaner.

Most cities have ordinances prohibiting the shaking of dust mops orbrooms, from a window. For this reason in apartmentl houses, hotels, and

other abodes, it is dimcult for the -users of dust mops to dispose ofthe dust adhering to the mops. An object of the present invention is toprovide simple means for removing the dust from a dust mop in such a wayas to prevent its becoming disseminated again into the air in the room;and to provide means for collecting the dust. Y

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this kindwith means for facilitating the dislodgement of the dust from the mopwithin a casing, and associated with means for delivering the dust intoa collecting bag.

A further object of the invention is to produce a cleaner element havingeiective wipers or tongues for engaging the mop at a plurality of pointsto cooperate in dislodging the dust from the mop; also to construct thetongues inexpensively but in such a way as to givev them a high degreeof flexibility, thereby tending to increase their vibration under theaction of movements imparted to the same, or tothe mop.

V-Further'objects of the inventic'i'nfwill appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel parts and. combination of parts tobe described "hereinafter, all of which contributeto produce 'an emcientdust mop cleaner. v

' A preferred embodiment lof the invention is described in the followingspecication, while the broad scope of the invention is pointed out inthe appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation and partial section through a dust mopcleaner embodying my invention, certain parts being broken away.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken about on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1,with a dust collecting bag broken away and shown partly in elevation.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken about on the line 3-3 of Fig. l.This view is broken away to economize space.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical section taken yat the back of thelcleaner, and particularly illustrating details for the features thatgiveA accessibility to the dust collecting bag. This view is upon anenlarged scale, and particularly villustrates the dust bag collar plate,and means for of material which I,l employ for making the wipersortongues that engage the mop, to kfacilitate the dislodgement of itsdust.

Fig. 6 is a detail of a guide bearing that I employ for guiding astemthat I employ for imparting a vibratory movement to the mop or to acleaner elementfor assisting in dislodging the dust from the mop. 'I'heview is a vertical section through this bearing, and showing a portionof the stem that is guided through the bearing.

Referring more particularly to the parts, I indicates a box-formcasing'having an opening at 2 preferably located on the upper side andnormally closed by a lid 3 that may be mounted on a hinge connection 4.Within the casing and preferably in the upper portion thereof, I mount acleaner element 5 which, in the present instance, is of box form, thatis to say it has a wall capable of surrounding and contacting with a mopon all sides surrounding a space of smaller cross-sectional area thanthe casing, that constitutes the inlet for tlie'fan, and this wall isprovided with a plurality of` fixedly supported inwardly projectingwipers or tongues 6 that come into contact with the mop when insertedthrough the opening at 2. At the lower end of the cleaner element 5transverse bars or straps 'l are provided, which are of substantiallyV-form in side elevation as shown in Fig. 2, the middle portions ofthese bars being attached to a longitudinally extending frame bar S. Theconnections of the bars 'l to the longitudinal bar 8 may be spot weldedif desired.

The bars 'l are also provided with upwardly projecting inclined wipersor tongues 6. In using this mop cleaner, the lid :i 'would be raised bymeans of its handle 9, and the mopwould then be introduced through theopening at 2 past two overlapping aps i0 of a flexible material such asrubber. The middle portions of these flaps have registering notches Hthat cooperate to form an opening to t the handle of the mop. The mophead would be located within the body 5 in contact with the wipers ortongues 6. With this construction it will be evident that a mop could beintroduced and then vibrated in a vertical direction, or else agitatedlaterally so as't cause the tongues 6 to dislodge the dust from Y themop. f

The dust from the mop would descend into a dust `chamber |2below ythecleaner element 5, and in this chamberI ydevelop a ypartial vacuum tocause an inward current of atmospheric air to be drawn down at theopening 2 and past the mop. A'Ihis dust-laden yairis then forced into adust collecting bag I3 (see Fig. 2). For this purpose I prefer to employas a vacuum device a rotary suction fan or blower I4 .which is driven ina clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2, by means of a small motorsuch as an electric motor l5. The cleaner element 5 operates as the airinlet for the fan, and the dust-laden air passes up from the fan orblower, through an opening I6; and of course the material of the bag isa fabric which will permit the air to pass through the same, leaving thedust within the bag. This air will pass out through louver openings I1in the rear wall of the casing. The side of the bag is held away fromthe openings I1 by means of a grid i8.

If desired, the end walls of the bag chamber I9 may also be providedwith perforations 20 to permit other escape of the air that has beenfiltered through the wall of the bag.

When the fanor blower I4 is in operation, a considerable reduction inpressure occurs in the dust chamber I2, which will cause the flaps I tobend downwardly as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, therebypermitting atmospheric air to flow in and move down past the mop.

Although my invention can be practiced by using only the apparatusalready described, I prefer to provide means 'for causing a relativevibratory movement between the cleaner element and the mop. This may beaccomplished either by vibrating the cleaner element or vibrating themop, or vibrating both the mop and the cleaner element. to provide a camor eccentric 2I on the end of the shaft 22 of the motor I5. Inthepresent instance I provide an eccentric sheave 23 indicated in dottedoutline in Fig. 2, and this sheave rotates in an eccentric strap 24carryingv an eccentric Y rod or stem 25 that vextends upwardly with itsupper end guided through a loose bearing 26. The rod 25 is formed withan arm 21 that extends over to a point under the frame bar 3 so thatwhen the eccentric rod is actuated by the eccentric, the end of thisarm'21will strike. the bar 3 and impart vibratory upward jarringmovements to the cleaner element 5 at a rapid rate. The rate ofimparting these vibrations will be very high where theshaftof theeccentric rotates at the same speed asthe motor shaft. In the presentinstance, this isuaccomplished by coupling the electric motor directlyto'the fan, and having the eccentric mounted on an extension shaft fromthe fan.

In order to adjust the point of contact of the arm 21 with the underside of the bar 8, I prefer to provide the bar` with a contact screw orbolt 28. the tip of which projects slightly above the` arm 21. Thisscrew or bolt can be. adjusted up or down as desired. l The cleanerelement 5 is mounted substantially xed within the casing but so that itis capable of a limited yielding vibratory movement. For this purpose Iprovidefour or more hanger bolts 29 see Fig. 2) which are supported frombrackets 3U on the front wall of the casing, and on the partition wall3i. These bolts are surrounded with cushion blocks 32 Aofyielding-material such as rubber. When vthe arm 21 engages the bar B andpushesl the body 5 upwardly, these blocks 32 will be compressed and willimmediately force the body 5 down toward its original position.

There 'is a great variety in the size and shape of dust mops, and inorder to increase the emciency of this cleaner device and to enable theIn order to accomplish this I prefer mop head to be vibrated if desired,either instead of vibrating the cleaner body 5, or vibrate it inaddition to the vibration of the body 5, I prefer to provide means forengaging the under side of the head of the mop. These mops usually havea wire frame or a head of some kind of solid material to which the softportions of the mop are attached. The construction, therefore,preferably also includes a mop head vibrator 33 in the form of an armthat may be pivotally attached at 34'on the upper portion of theeccentric rod 25. This vibrator projects across the upper side of alongitudinal bar or mop rest 35. This bar 35 is to make contact with therigid head or rigid body that carries the soft portion of .the mop, andit extends longitudinally of the casing and its ends are supported oncushion blocks 36 held in socket brackets 31 (see Fig. l). These blocks36 are in slight compression, and are limited in their upward movementby stops 38 welded to the inner side of the end walls of the casing. Thevibrator4 arm 33 is secured by an adjusting screw 39 to the arm 21. Thisadjusting screw 39 is threaded in the arm 33 and passes loosely throughthe arm 21, being provided with two clamping nuts 40 to clamp this screwin any desired position. The under side of the arm 33 at its tip may beprovided with a nib 4I that will always maintain contact with the bar 35at about the axis of the bar regardless of any adjusting movements ofthe vibrator arm 33.

If desired, the bar 35 maybe provided with a plurality of wipers ortongues 6a, which have substantially the same construction as the Wipers6 already described in Fig. 2. These wipers 6a -are omitted from Figure2 so as to enable the vibrating means to be more clearly disclosed, butthey are shown in Fig. 1, and also in Fig. 3. The use of this vibrator33 and vibrator rest 35 is advisable, particularly for enabling verysmall mops to be cleaned; that is to say, mops that are so small thatthey would not make an effective contact with the wipers or tongues 6projecting in fromV the side. In such a case, however, the rapidvibration of themop head would operate to dislodge the dust.

.The amount of vibrator movement imparted by the vibrating device neednot be great; infact, a stroke of one-quarter of an inch or less shouldbe suiilcient'to enable the dust to be dislodged Onaccount of thelateral movement that would be given to the lower end of the eccentricrod 25,

I prefer to use a bearing 26 that will permit con- Ato wabbleconsiderably at the bearing. As the balls, or small' chilled shot 42would constantly rotate on their centers with the movements of thecenter rod 25, it is evident that this bearing would have very littleWear, and even if it did wear considerably, this wouldhave very slighte'ect upon efcient operation of the vibrating mechanism.

The dust chamber I2 is formed with a false bottom by employing twoinclined plates 43 that are elevated toward their ends so that dustfalling on them will gravitate down to the intake opening 44 in the fanhousing.

'Ihe motor I5 is preferably mounted on cushions 45 of rubber or similarmaterial located at the bolts IB that support the motor on an inner ibottom wall I'I.

As illustrated in Fig. 3, the opening I8 from the ian housing up intothe bag I3, may be oi oval form. 'Ihe dust bag I3 is provided with aneck 48 (see Fig. 4) that is secured on a sleeve 49 by means of a splitring or collar 50. This sleeve 49 is carried on a sliding plate 5I, theedges of which are guided by guide flanges 52 on a plate 53. This `plateis preferably movably mounted on the casing to facilitate removal of theslide I. In the present instance it is connected by a hinge connection54 so as to enable the plate 53 to be swung upwardly toward a verticalposition. When swung up in this way the slide 5I can be pulled out todisconnect the bag from the swinging plate 53. The dust can then beemptied from the bag and the bag replaced.

In order to assure a dust-proof connection, the dust opening I6 shouldbe provided with a gasket 55 between the cover plate 53 and the plate 56in which the opening I6 is formed.

Access'is had to the bag by swinging down the rear wall 51 of the casingon a hinge connection 58 at its lower edge.

The tongues or wipers 6 may be attached to the body 5 or other supportsin the device, in any suitable manner. In the case of the body 5, theymay be if desired, threaded through properly placed perforations. Thematerial of which these wipers are formed, is very inexpensive andconsists of a helical coil or body 59 which is quite iiexible. Ofcourse, at the bends of these tongues at their tips, there will be atendency for these coils to open up and form crevices in which thefibers of the mop could become caught. However, in order to preventthis, I provide the shell 59 with a exible core or cord 60 of ordinaryheavy twine or small rope. This construction gives great flexibility tothese tongues, which is very desirable. The more they vibrate, the moreeiective they will be in dislodging the dust.

The casing is provided with an electric cord indicated at 6I in Fig. 1,which will be provided with an electric plug f not illustrated) thatcould be plugged into an electric socket adjacent the point where thiscleaner is to be used.

The forward wall of the casing may be provided with a door 62 (see Fig.2) attached by a spring hinge 63. This opening gives accessibility tothe motor and fan, and the adjusting screws of the vibrators.

Many other embodiments of the invention may be resorted to withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

l. In a dust mop cleaner, the combination of a casing having an openingthereinA for introducing the mop head, a cleaner element mounted in asubstantially xed position within said opening, and having a wall forsurrounding the mop head, said wall having fixedly supported flexiblevibrator wipers for contacting the mop head, a suction fan located inthe casing and operating to draw atmospheric air in an air current inthrough the opening and past the mop head, and means for imparting rapidvibratory impulses to the cleaner element to vibrate the wipers anddislodge the dust from the mop head.

2. A dust mop cleaner constrepired as defined in claim l, combined witha rest for supporting therigid body of the mop head, with a connectionfrom the vibrating means for imparting vibratory impulses at a rapidrate said rest.

3. In a dust mop cleaner, the combination of a casing having an openingfor the introduction of the mop. a substantially fixed cleaner elementhaving a wall to surround the mop and guide incoming atmospheric airpast the same, said cleaner element having a plurality offiexible wipersfor engaging the mop, means for supporting the cleaner element in asubstantially fixed position, but so as to permit. vibratory movementthereof, a collecting bag for the dust, means for imparting vibratoryimpulses to the body of the cleaner element to dislodge the dust fromthe mop, and a blower for developing a partial vacuum within the casingto draw a current of atmospheric air from the exterior past the mop anddeliver the dust-laden air into the bag.

4. In a dust mop cleaner, a cleaner element having a box-form body withrectangularly disposed walls for surrounding the mop head, and having aplurality of resilient flexible tongues flxedly carried thereby forengaging the mop, said tongues capable of vibrating when vibratoryimpulses are imparted to the said body.

5. In a dustw mop cleaner, the combination of a cleaner element having abox-form body with rectangularly disposed walls for surrounding the mophead, and having a plurality of resilient flexible tongues iixedlycarried thereby for engaging the mop, and capable of Vibrating by reasonof their own resiliency, means for imparting vibratory movements tothemop to dislodge the dust, and means for collecting the dust shaken fromthe mop.,

6. In a dust mop cleaner, the combination of a casing closed above andhaving an opening on its upper side for the introduction of the mop, acleaner element mounted below the opening having inwardly projectingmeans for engaging the mop, means for yieldingly supporting the cleanerelement in a substantially xed position within the casing and so as topermit vibratory movement of the same, a collecting bag for the dustremovably mounted within the casing, a blower for drawing a current ofair downwardly through said opening as the air inlet for the fan, pastthe. mop, and for moving the dust-laden air into the dust-collectingbag, said blower shaft having an extension shaft rigid therewith, andmeans including a moving part for striking against the cleaner elementactuated by the said extension shaft for imparting vibratory impulses tothe cleaner element.

7. In a dust mop cleaner, the combination of a casing closed above andhaving an opening on its upper side for the introductiongpf the mop, acleaner element mounted below "'e opening having inwardly projectingiixedly supported resilient means for engaging the mop, projecting in ageneral horizontal direction, supporting means for the mop and foryieldingly supporting the cleaner element in a substantially fixedposition within the casing and so as to permit vibratory movement of thesame, a blower for drawing a current of air downwardly through saidopening as the inlet for 'the fan, past the mop, said blower having anextension shaft, and means actuated by the said extension shaft forvibrating the mop supporting means.

8. In a dust mop cleaner, the combination of a casing having an upperopening therein through which the mop head can be introduced, a cleanerelement constructed as a receiver for the mop, having a substantiallyvertical wall-for surrounding the mop on all sides, said wall havingvibrator tongues secured thereto and extending inwardly so as to contactthe soit portion oi 9. A dust mop cleaner constructed as deilned the mophead, means for suspending the cleaner in claim 8. in which thevibrating means includes element including a. resilient part. and meansfor a moving part for repeatedly striking against a imparting vibratoryimpulses to the cleaner elepart oi the cleaner element to impart theviment at a rapid rate in a substantially vertical 5 bratoryimpulses tothe same.

direction, thereby developing vibratory movements in said vibratortongues for dislodging the CECIL R. CURTIS. dust from the soit portionof the mop.

